Nelspruit, the capital city of the Mpumalanga province, is nestled on the Crocodile River, about 60 km west of Mozambique.

 

The city falls under the Mbombela Local Municipality which is home to about 560 000 people. The municipality was formed in 2000 by the merger of the Hazyview, Nelspruit and White River local councils.

Mpumalanga (which means “the place of the rising sun”) is the primary gateway to the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park, which stretches over three countries and encompasses global wilderness icons such as the 100-year old Kruger National Park. With its subtropical climate, abundant sunshine and lush covered hills and valleys, Nelspruit forms the ideal base from which to explore Mpumalanga.

The city has two airports, Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport and the Nelspruit Airport and is also major stopover point for tourists traveling to the Kruger National Park and to Mozambique.

Major industries in the area include the canning of citrus fruit, paper production, furniture manufacture and timber. Fertile soils and subtropical climate provide perfect conditions for the growing of citrus and tropical fruits, mainly mango, banana, avocado and also many varieties of nuts.

Event experience

Nelspruit has hosted:

• air shows

• arts and music festivals

• agricultural festivals

• exhibitions and conferences

• centenary celebrations

• cycling tours

• the Sasol motor-racing rally

• national golf tournaments

• long-distance marathons

• the World Gold Panning Championships 2005